Apparatus for feeding wire or metal strip



P 9, 1969 w. E. M. SMITH 3,466,660

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING WIRE OR METAL STRIP Filed July 10, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR w. :.M n

A. (f g -Mk3 I ATTORNEYS P 1969 w. E. M. SMITH 3,466,660

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING WIRE 0R METAL STRIP Filed July 10, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR W. E. M. SMT

BY wwmm k/w fi ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,466,660 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING WIRE R METAL STRIP William Eric Mortimore Smith, Havant, England, assignor to J. Evans & Son (Portsmouth) Limited, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, a British company Filed July 10, 1967, Ser. No. 652,314 Claims priority, application Great Britain, July 18, 1966, 32,152/ 66 Int. Cl. B65h 17/36 U.S. Cl. 226-160 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Apparatus for feeding metal strip comprises a feed member having a clamping element which grips the strip during the feed movement and is then released to allow the free return movement of the feed member. The apparatus also includes a holding member through which the strip is fed and which has a clamping element which is inoperative during the feeding movement but clamps the strip to prevent reverse feed as the feed member is retracted.

This invention relates to apparatus for feeding wire or metal strip and particularly for feeding it to the tiller tool of a brush making machine so as to be cropped into: short lengths to form tuft anchoring slugs.

The present invention provides apparatus for intermittently feeding metal strip comprising a strip feeding member and a strip holding member, the feeding member being movable in one direction to effect forward feeding movement of the strip relative to the holding member, a strip clamping element provided in each said member, means operative at the start of a strip feeding movement simultaneously to supply fluid under pressure to the clamping element to move the clamping element of the feeding member into strip clamping position and move the clamping element of the holding member into unclamping position so as to permit the strip to be fed by the feeding member past the clamping element of the holding member, means operable at the completion of the feed stroke to shut off the said supply of fluid under pressure so as to release the clamping action of the clamping element of the feeding member and permit the clamping element of the holding member to move into strip clamping position so that on the return stroke of the feeding member the strip is clamped by the clamping element of the holding member and the feeding member is permitted to be retracted freely relatively to the strip.

The clamping action of the clamping elements is adjustable and is adapted to be just suflicient to grip the strip under normal operating conditions. In the case of the feeding member the clamping engagement is preferably such that should there be any resistance to the feeding of the strip the clamping element of the feeding member will slip along the wire. This is important in brush making machines in that it ensures that the strip cannot be overfed into the brush making machine so as to cause jamming.

To enable the invention to be fully understood, it will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side view of apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view on the line B-B of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view on the line A--A of FIGURE 1.

As shown in the drawings, apparatus for intermittently feeding metal strip a to the filler tool of a brush making Patented Sept. 9., 1969 an 1C6 machine comprises a feeding member generally indicated by 1 and a strip holding member generally indicated by 2. As more particularly illustrated in FIGURE 2, the feeding member includes a body 6 pivotally mounted in needle bearings 4 on a shaft 5 to which is also connected a lever 3. The body 6 is provided with an anvil 7 formed with a groove 8 in which the metal strip a is adapted to be guided. A member 9 is pivotally mounted at 10 on the body 6 and formed with a recess 11 in which a piston 12 is reciprocally mounted, the stepped portion 13 of the piston extending through a bore in the member 9 and the free end being adapted to co-operate with the anvil 7 to clamp the metal strip. The piston 12 is connected with a diaphragm 14, the periphery of which is clamped between a cover plate 15 and the adjacent face of the memher 9. The member 9 is normally retained in the position indicated in FIGURE 2. by a swing bolt 16. By releasing the swing bolt the member 9 can be swung outwardly about the pivot 10 for the initial insertion of the metal strip and also to permit servicing.

The piston 12 is normally urged by the diaphragm into light non-clamping engagement with the metal strip and is adapted to be urged into clamping engagement by supplying fluid under pressure to the outer face of the diaphragm through a port 17.

The strip holding member 2 is more particularly illustrated in FIGURE 3 and comprises a member 18 fixed to a support and formed with a groove 19 for guiding the metal strip and a member 20 pivoted to the member 18 at 21. The member 20 is formed with a recess 22 housing a stepped piston 23 having an extension 24 sliding through a bore in the member 20, the free end of the extension 24 being adapted to co-operate with the member 18 to clamp the metal strip.

A coil spring 25 is housed in a recess in an end plate 26 and acts on a diaphragm 27 connected with the piston 23. Accordingly, the end of the extension 24 of the piston is normally urged by the spring towards the portion of the member 18 formed with the groove 19 so as to clamp the wire located in the groove.

A port 28 opens into the recess 22 on the side of the piston remote from the diaphragm and fluid under pressure is adapted to be supplied to the port through a supply line 29.

The member 20 is maintained in the position illustrated in FIGURE 3 by a swing bolt 30. When the swing bolt is released the member 20 can be swung outwardly about the pivot 21 to enable the meal strip to be inserted and also permit servicing.

In use, metal strip to be fed to the filler tool diagrammatically indicated by a (FIGURE 1) is drawn off from a supply reel (not shown) and threaded through the feeding and holding members so as to lie in the guide grooves 8, 19. It will be understood that the members 9 and 20 will be swung outwardly to permit this initial feeding and then reclamped.

To feed the strip, fluid under pressure is supplied to the port 17 to force the piston 12 towards the anvil 7 to clamp the metal strip. Simultaneously fluid under pressure is supplied through the supply line 29 to the port 28 of the strip holding member to retract the piston 23 against the action of the spring 25.

By means of suitable mechanism such as a system of links connected to the lever 3 and operated from the main cam of a brush making machine, the feeding member is rocked about the shaft 5 in an anti-clockwise direction as viewed in FIGURE 1. As the piston of the feeding member is gripping the metal strip and the piston of the holding member is not, the rocking movement of the feeding member feeds the strip through the holding 3 member to the filler tool indicated diagrammatically by F.

At the end of the feeding movement the supply of fluid under pressure to the port 17 of the feeding member is relieved and the diaphragm 14 retracts the piston so that it now makes light non-clamping contact with the metal strip. Simultaneously the supply of fluid under pressure through the port 28 of the holding member is relieved and the spring 25 now acts on the piston to urge the extension 24 into clamping engagement with the strip. The feeding member is now swung back in a clockwise direction and as its piston is not in clamping engagement with the strip, the feeding member moves freely over the metal strip which is, however, held against backward movement by the clamping action of the piston in the holding member.

It will be understood that the above cycle of movements will be continuously repeated while the brush making machine is in use so that the metal strip is continuously fed in step-like increments to the filler tool where it is cropped off by a cropping tool to form anchoring slugs for securing tufts of bristles in holes in a brush stock.

The piston of the feeding member is designed to have just suflicient grip on the metal strip for satisfactorily feeding it provided there is no abnormal resistance to the forward movement of the strip. If there is any such resistance, the feeding member will slip over the strip without effecting a forward feed movement. An advantage of this arrangement is that should there be any obstruction in the filler tool to prevent the free feeding of the strip there is no danger of overfeeding such as might cause jamming of the tool.

While the invention has been particularly described as applied to feeding metal strip to the filler tool of a brush making machine, it will be understood that it could be used for feeding wire or strip to any other form of apparatus or device.

If desired, each of the pistons 12 and 23 may be fitted with sealing rings such as O-rings.

Further, the diaphragm 14 may be omitted in which case the piston 12 will not be positively retracted but will lightly engage the strip when the supply of fluid pressure to the post 17 is shut off.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for intermittently feeding metal strip to the filler tool of a brush making machine comprising a strip feeding member and a strip holding member, means for pivotally supporting said strip feeding member so as to be oscillatable for effecting a forward feeding movement of the strip relative to the holding member, a strip clamping piston mounted in said strip feeding member and a flexible diaphragm connected with said piston, a strip clamping piston mounted in said strip holding member, a spring acting on said holding member piston urging it into clamping engagement with said strip, means operative at the start of a strip feeding movement to supply fluid under pressure to said diaphragm to actuate said first mentioned piston into strip clamping position and supply fluid pressure to the said holding member piston to move it against the pressure of said spring out of strip clamping position so as to permit the strip to be fed by the feeding member past the holding member and means operable at the completion of the feed stroke to relieve the fluid pressure acting on said diaphragm to permit the latter to retract said feed member piston and relieve the fluid pressure acting on said holding member piston to permit it to be moved by said spring into strip clamping position so that on the return oscillating movement of the feeding member the strip is clamped by the said holding member piston and the feeding member is permitted to be retracted freely relatively to the strip.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,125,270 3/1964 Ronfeldt 226- X 3,159,325 12/1964 Toensing 226-158 X 3,326,438 6/1967 Dickerman 226-150 M. HENSON WOOD, 1a., Primary Examiner RICHARD A. SCHACHER, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 226l62, 167 

